In 2006, during one of his shows, Alexander McQueen has used a hologram to project Kate Moss, appearing out of thin air, wearing a dramatic gown from his newest collection. On April 13th 2011, as a part of launch in the new Chinese market, Burberry has hosted the first ever 3D hologram only fashion show. It featured only six models (normally around 30). The show was presented as them walking through one another, bursting into raindrops.
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| Kate Moss' hologram during Alexander McQueen's show in 2006. Source: metro.co.uk |
For Burberry, which was in the middle of brand repositioning at the time, it was a perfect opportunity for promotion and the much needed media attention. From the headlines came out a new face – originating from a traditional and a little dusty, old designer re-emerged a modern, trend-setting brand, that respects its history (after all, that’s where the name Burberry Prorsum came from; ‘prorsum’ from Latin, means forward). It seems that thanks to wide use of technology at their shows, Burberry managed to reach the peak of glory for just a moment, but for the rest of the fashion world as a whole it sparked a discussion whether traditional fashion shows and technology go hand in hand or perhaps they should remain 'pure' and speak for itself in their usual setting.
Fashion benefitted not only from the spectacle that
technology can create for the events but also the new market some technogical
advances create. The Burberry case died down but not for long, as only a year
later, Diane Von Furstenberg caused another upset in the industry by teaming up
with Google for her fashion show featuring the new Google Glass in her collection,
aligning them in terms of design with the collection pieces. The still
relatively new market of ‘wereable technology’ finds as many followers as it
finds opponents, the latter accusing the former that it has nothing to do with
fashion apart from the clearly regrettable fact of product placement becoming a
part of high fashion shows to raise sales and the numbers of 'fashion victims'.
Fashion is characterised by its seasonal nature, there is no
place for stagnation and boredom, and as a result it has to be slightly
unpredictable. We are quickly approaching the finale of another bi-yearly
Fashion Week, this time uniquely rich in technology. The most spectacular
example seems to be the a highly experimental event design by Louis Vuitton.
The brand has had an event venue custom
built for the specific purpose of using a drone to watch the front-row
celebrities arrive. This use of technology as part of the event is becoming a
staple. Each season the brand has built a one-off event venue, and in 2015 the
aim was to take the guests into outer space. Well, not literally – the
technology isn't quite there yet – but taking the guests into the space-age
biospheres, their design based around technology developed for extraterrestrial
colonies.
While for Louis Vuitton and this particular event the
grandeur and extravagance is partly expected, and those expectations have been
met with flying colours, serious questions about technology and its place in
this context arise. When technology like this is so advanced and widespread,
the line between innovation and kitsch becomes ever so thinner, especially when
analysing the case of the fashion industry, where the creativity in clothes is
paired with an exclusive and traditional, almost elitist environment. While
some are lauded for this marriage of old and new, others see it as a tacky
trick, a mesalliance of sorts. As Karl Lagerfeld proved several days ago,
building a theatre style set for his show to make his catwalk resemble a
classic french Brasserie, traditional events design can still be successfully
used to transport the audience to a land of wonder.
So do fashion events need technology and if they do, where
exactly is that thin line? As per usual, things are rarely monochromatic and it
seems that the golden rule lies somewhere in the middle. While technologically
plausible, it seems unlikely that all shows will soon be replaced by holograms
or the accessories by Google Glass or Apple’s iWatch (as recently seen on the
cover of Vogue China following the month the watch premiered), simply due to the
nature of the industry. Digital displays are so far not able to replace such
essentially physical elements as complex catwalks or custom venue design and
likewise, digital accessories will not replace craftsmanship. Technology should
remain useful and utilitarian, while imagination and creativity remain at the
helm of the industry. Its role should rather be amplifying the show and
enabling more possibilities for innovation.
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